Century-old logistic colossus USP converted to Blockchain
“There may be scenarios in which it is advantageous for various logistics service providers to transport the shipment unit along different legs/segments from its origin to its destination. However, it may be difficult to coordinate the transportation of the shipment unit through the various logistics service provider transportation networks. Moreover, if there are special handling requirements for transporting the shipment unit, it may be difficult to ensure that the special handling requirements are carried through by each of the various logistics service providers that may assist in transporting the shipment unit.”
This is what is read in a note, published last Thursday by the US Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO), which explains the decision of the delivery giant to switch to Blockchain and DLT (distributed ledger technology) to route packages throughout an international supply chain that may include multiple carriers.
United Parcel Service (UPS) is a Georgia based multinational package delivery and supply chain management company, founded way back in 1907 — when deliveries still were made on foot and, only for longer trips, on bicycles — which now counts almost 440,000 employees worldwide, over 105,000 vehicles, a revenue of 65.872 billion (2017) and three main divisions and subsidiaries, its cargo airline (UPS Airlines), freight-based trucking operation (UPS Freight, formerly Overnite Transportation), and retail-based packing and shipping centers (The UPS Store).
But why a century-old authority in the logistic system decided to change course and rely on the disrupting power of blockchain technology?
The main answer is probably that, within the current system it is still difficult to coordinate logistics for shipments that involve more than one logistics service provider transportation network: the patent application, which UPS originally filed on Feb. 16, could help streamline package delivery logistics across a global supply chain. While shipping logistics providers have, indeed, become quite adept at optimizing package routing to increase efficiency and minimize costs, UPS aims to tackle this problem with an autonomous system that, in some embodiments, uses an immutable blockchain ledger to automatically route packages through multiple logistics service provider networks.
Read more:
https://medium.com/@openpackaging/century-old-logistic-colossus-usp-converted-to-blockchain-df345ca0d1ff